The Foundation of Utility and John Stuart Mill

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The Foundation of Utility and John Stuart Mill

The foundation of Utility is based on John Stuart Mill's notion that one must strive to act in such a way to produce the greatest good of the greatest number. Utility itself relies on the responsibility of the individual to remain impartial in his endeavor to produce the greatest good, looking past such extrinsic influences that may render the individual to seek a biased sense of satisfaction. In order for Utility to function as Mill wanted it to, honest judgment and objectivity must be an essential part of one's drive for the acquisition of the greatest good.

In order for the insistence that equity and impartiality to hold true to Mill's Utility, we must find a foundation from within his argumentation that will support it. Thus we turn to Mill's sanctions, or incentives that he proposes to drive one towards the path of Utility. Mill's first sanction, the internal sanction, leads one to act ethically because of the fear of displeasure that might arise from other people if one does not act in this manner. Mill justifies that individuals desire the warmness of others as an incentive to acting unselfishly in the attempt to acquire the greatest good, and fear the dissatisfaction of others. Mill's second sanction, the internal sanction, is in essence an individual's inner conscience. With the assumption that the conscience is pure and free from corruption, Mill implies that satisfaction is brought forth to the conscience when one successfully and ethically commits to one's duties, the duty of Utility. What is undesired is the feeling of dissatisfaction that spawns when one does not act dutifully. In order for this rationale to make sense, one must do what is almost unavoid...

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...extrinsic and internal sanctions. This shows that utility is desired to be impartial and equal.

At the beginning of Utility, Mill states that, "…The intuitive, no less than what maybe termed the inductive, school of ethics insists on the necessity of general laws.". In accordance with this, the insistence that impartiality and equity lie within Utility relies on the framework of Utility itself, and the ability to remain consistent with the guidelines put forth by Mill. The laws of Utility base themselves on the equality of individuals and their rights to happiness. By maintaining a discipline that remains consistent with Mill's laws, Utility remains consistent in dispersing happiness that is free of bias and partiality.

Bibliography

1.) Mill, John Stuart; Utilitarianism, Hackett Publishing Company, 1979

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